And Matt Came Back
by radioactiveghost
Summary: What happened to Matt after returning from Africa? Warning - not Metty.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Ugly Betty or it's characters. I wish I did, the ending would have been different.

This is my first attempt at writing anything other than e-mails and facebook updates so please go easy on me. I kept thinking they would bring Matt back at some point like Henry and Gio but he just disappeared, so this is my attempt to fill in what happened to him. WARNING - this is Not Metty! My world is a Detty world. Please let me know if I should bother to continue. I'm not sure 100% where I'm headed with this so bear with me.

Chapter 1. New York

The towering buildings and the sea of people seemed to press in on him. Seven months ago he could never have imagined feeling out of place in the city he grew up in, yet here he was pushing through a Manhattan crowd and wishing he had stayed in Africa. He would still be there if his co-volunteers hadn't begged him to use his family connections and his own high-profile to work the fund-raising circuit, they needed money and he could get it for them.

Matt had spent the last week making phone calls and setting up charity dinners, his Mother was helping with that. There was no one better at giving an elite "got to get an invite" dinner party. One phone number in his contact list stood out from the others, grabbing his attention every time he scrolled by it. Suarez, Betty. They had parted on good terms, both wishing the other well and promising to stay in contact. Of course that didn't happen – not a lot of cell phone signal or internet connection in the bush, and Matt had been so swept away by the beauty of the location and plight of the people that everything else had fallen away no matter how good his intentions had been.

Last night he had finally gave in to temptation and tried to call. He was going to invite her to dinner, just to reconnect – see how she was doing, tell her all about his adventure, and maybe it would be like old times. If she hadn't moved on and started seeing someone else, well… why not try and re-capture the magic they had once shared?

The phone had been answered by a gruff male voice who denied knowing Betty and had threatened to do many unpleasant things to Matt if he called again – most of which were anatomical impossibilities but conveyed a sense of finality to which Matt immediately deleted the number from his contact list. Okay so she had a new cell number, no problem, he would just call MODE, Amanda would have her number. The receptionist who answered this morning was not Amanda and not helpful at all. What did she mean there was no one there by that name? Marc wasn't available, Claire was out of the country, he knew Wilhelmina wouldn't deign to take his call, and he sure as hell wasn't going to ask to speak to Daniel. Where the hell was Betty?

Next he had logged on to the internet, Betty loved her blog and she would maintain that no matter what, he would simply catch up on her entries and then send her an e-mail. Matt was shocked to see so few entries, the most recent was from April.

"Dear Readers, I want to thank everyone for the support and encouragement I have received since I began writing this blog. However I write this as my last entry (for now), but don't worry you will still hear from me, I have accepted a new position with Dunne Publishing in London as Editor in Chief of a new magazine… "

LONDON!

Groaning, Matt leaned back in his desk chair, only to flop his head forward banging it onto the desk. He had just been in London! It was just a lay-over but still, he had been close and didn't even know it. He started to click the link to send her an e-mail and then remembered her address had been to MODE, deciding to send one anyway he wrote her a short note saying hello and asking her to call him just in case she was still checking it. He hadn't wanted to get them involved but her family had to know how to get in touch with her. Ignacio picked up on the second ring.

"Suarez residence."

"Hi Mr. Suarez, it's Matt."

"Oh… Hi, Matt."

"Yeah, so… I'm back in town… I just thought I'd give Betty a call to say hello… but she must have a new number… being in London and… everything..." He waited expectantly for her father to happily begin rattling off her new number.

Ignacio started hesitantly, "Matt, you're a nice enough guy… not the most reliable but I liked you fine… I hate to say no… but you should just leave her be. She's moved on with her life, so should you. Good-bye."

Matt had sat staring at his phone long after the soft click had signaled the call was over. Moved on? Did that mean she was seeing someone new? Last week Betty had barely crossed his mind, just fond memories passing by. Something about her unavailability was making the thought of contacting her become the foremost thought in his mind - Africa, the charity, and the people he left behind fading into his subconscious the same way his love for Betty once had. Matt now had one thought, one driving force to guide his actions – find Betty. His therapist had called him obsessive but she just didn't understand having a true passion that gripped your heart and led you where you needed to go.

So now Matt was heading to Betty's old apartment, her building superintendent would have a forwarding address and he was sure to be more susceptible to a bribe than anyone at MODE's human resource department. Turns out he was right, the super remembered them being together and was more than happy to give him the address for what Matt thought was a rather reasonable amount, less than what he usually carried around for spending money anyway. He had a twinge of guilt as he realized he could have put that money to a more charitable use, and what to do about all those dinner parties being planned? He had to get to London though, that was most important, what if Betty were in trouble and needed him. A small part of his mind knew this wasn't true and he wasn't being entirely rational but he shoved that thought down deep and covered it over with a blanket of more practical thoughts. Instead he thought about how much time he had before the first event and how long the flight was to London – plenty of time just to pop in and say hello, make sure she's okay. Plenty of time when you are a Hartley and can call up a private jet to leave immediately – once again Matt pulled out his phone.

Chapter 2. London

It had taken longer than he had wanted, getting to the airport, fueling the jet, waiting their turn to take off… it was later than he had planned when he finally arrived. He should wait until tomorrow but nine isn't really that late, he reasoned with himself, and it's a Friday so she won't be working in the morning and he wasn't going to stay long, he was just stopping in to say hello, that's all. Of course if she ASKED him to stay he would, that's different. He stood outside in the ever present drizzle of England staring at the address he had been given wondering if the super had lied to him.

Her home was different than he imagined, he had believed she would be in another crappy little apartment like her one in New York. After all she had stayed there even though she could have moved in with him, she had preferred having a place of her own no matter how small it was, he understood that – or he thought he had. This townhouse didn't really fit his image of her, and he had been in London enough to know that a place like this was as expensive here as it was in New York – more so in this neighborhood than others.

There was movement in one of the upstairs windows but it was just a shadow breaking up the soft glow of the light coming from within, he couldn't tell if it was Betty or not. Taking a deep breath in he squared his shoulders and marched up to the door and rapped firmly on the red painted wood, noticing a doorbell to the right he pressed that a couple of times for good measure.

He could hear the thumping of someone coming down the stairs, and a muffled 'Be right there'. Damn, a man's voice… must be the wrong place. He debated whether to run or not, and laughed at himself – just apologize and leave, no need to behave like a kid playing a prank. As the door swung inward Matt put on his most winning smile and prepared to dazzle the home's resident with his charm and effusive apology.

"I'm sorry, I seem…to…" he trailed off as he realized who and what he was seeing "**You**! What are **you** doing here?" Matt's horrified gaze took in the sight of none other than Daniel Meade, dressed in nothing but a pair of pale-green striped pajama pants and holding his wallet in one hand.

"What am **I** doing here? I live here. What are **you** doing here?" Daniel asked derisively, his eyes locked on Matt's face and his free hand clenching into a fist.

Before he could answer he heard footsteps on the stoop behind him and Meade - with the experience born of a thousand interviews - immediately changed expressions to one of welcome and looked over Matt's shoulder. Turning, Matt took in the delivery boy's anxious face and stepped back from the doorway.

"So how much do I owe you?"

The kid stammered out an amount as Daniel dug out some bills, trading the bags of takeout for the money Daniel told him to keep the change. The extra cash did the trick and the teen left with a smile and merrily drove away, none the wiser of the depth of the impending confrontation he had interrupted. But the break seemed to cool both of their initial reactions to the shock of seeing each other.

"Come on in out of the rain, I'm sure she'll want to talk to you." Daniel voice had a resignation to it, he backed away from the door to allow Matt entry. "Have a seat, I'm going to put this in the kitchen." He started making his way across the living room as Matt looked around and took in his surroundings, seeing a coat rack nearby he hung his wet jacket and turned back to see Daniel returning, hands now empty.

They both looked up at the stairs as they heard the footsteps coming down, Daniel shot him a look of warning – the meaning was very clear.

"Whatever you ordered, it smells wonderful!" Betty sang out as she lightly traipsed into view, Matt's heart skipped and his stomach sank when he saw her. Her hair was wet as if she had just gotten out of the shower and she was wearing the matching pajama top to Daniel's pants. She did not see immediately see Matt, only having eyes for Daniel as she reached her arms up to encircle his neck and lean against him.

He returned her embrace and kissed her firmly before replying "It's just Chinese but it did come with an extra side of Matt." He jerked his head sideways indicating their guest still standing by the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Warning - no happy endings here, just resolution of a sort. I really wanted to keep to Matt's POV but I may have to write another version from Betty's POV. I kept thinking of things she might be thinking but would never say.

I really struggled to try and get the characters right and ended up re-writing this several times, I apologize if they seem OOC.

Confrontation.

As he watched the simple scene of affection play out before him Matt felt his heart break in two. As soon as the front door had opened a part of his mind had been reasoning away why Daniel was here - he was just visiting, he was using her, he didn't love her - not the way Matt did - he couldn't. They were just friends, Betty had **promised **him they were just friends, but the easy familiarity with which they touched and the tenderness in their eyes exposed that promise for the lie that it was.

"Matt!" Betty squeaked in the way only Betty could, jerking her hands away from Daniel and crouching to grab the bottom of her shirt.

"Betty. Nice to see you looking so…well." It was not what he really wanted to say, but he could tell she heard what he meant by the raw edge of his voice.

Her face turned a variety of shades of red as a range of emotions flitted across her face - shock, embarrassment, indignation, before finally settling into a look of determination. Perhaps realizing that she could not magically make the pajama top any longer, and with more composure than he would have thought her capable of, she let go of the hem and stood up straight. "Excuse me for a moment." She said formally and turned back the way she had come. Betty climbed the stairs stiffly and with an exaggerated slowness - obvious in her attempt to look as though she couldn't care less that she was half-naked with an ex-boyfriend staring her down. Matt watched her until her feet disappeared from view and was startled when he realized Daniel had meanwhile crossed the room and was now inches from his face.

"Listen very carefully, I'm only going to say this once." Daniel practically snarled at him. "She has worried about how to tell you about us since day one. She knew how this would look to you, but no matter what you think you know, you are going to sit there and listen politely to every word she says. Then you are going to make your good-byes and leave."

"Or what? You'll hit me again? Betty doesn't approve of violence, don't you know that about her? Do you understand her at all?" Matt asked bitingly. How could this shallow prima donna playboy ever comprehend this intelligent and complex woman they way he did?

"I don't think you know Betty as well as you think you do. She might not approve of me beating the crap out of you, but I guarantee you she'll forgive me anyway." They heard her light footsteps start down the stairs at same time and Daniel quickly stepped away from Matt. "Have a seat." he said and gestured grandly to the sofa and chairs beside them, the tone of his voice a complete one-eighty from only moments before. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No. I won't be staying long." The look of satisfaction on Daniel's face grated on Matt's nerves. How dearly he would like to rub that smugness right into the floor, but he wouldn't lower himself to Daniel's level. Matt sat in the chair closest to him and watched as Betty entered the room for a second time. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a plain black sweater, the outfit was so un-Betty-like he frowned. Had he changed her that much? Where was the color, the patterns, the clash of styles that made her so unique? He noticed then that the sleeves were much too long and the fit was off, the realization that she had put on a piece of Daniels' clothing instead of her own disturbed him more than her original state of undress. It was as though she had put on a uniform or piece of armor identifying herself as belonging to Daniel, he wondered if it was a conscious decision or if she had simply picked up the first thing that had come to hand.

She tossed something at Daniel which turned out to be a t-shirt that he slipped on as he sat on the couch at the end furthest from Matt. Betty stepped past Daniel and settled down next to him. She hadn't looked at Matt since coming back downstairs and she didn't meet his gaze now as she sat a few feet from him. She took a couple of deep breaths and finally looked up at him "Matt, I'm sorry you found out this way. I…"

"How long, that's all I want to know." He interrupted her. "How long have you been screwing him? Were you playing me the whole time we were together or only part of the time?" The churning in his stomach had turned into a vile stream of words he hadn't meant to say. "I should have known, the way you always took his calls no matter where we were, the way you would drop what you were doing every time he snapped his fingers. I believed you when you said you were just dedicated to your job, to your career." Jealousy was clouding Matt's memories, changing and re-emphasizing conversations and events - the late meetings, constant texts, the weekly lunches - all taking on new meaning now.

"Watch it…" Daniel started menacingly.

"No, it's okay." Betty put a hand on Daniel's arm and gave him a look warning him to stay put. "Well, it's not okay, but you would think the same thing, it's the same thing a lot of people think." She looked back to Matt, her eyes shining with tears threatening to brim over. "Our relationship has changed over time, but I swear to you Matt, nothing happened between us until after I moved to London."

"Yeah, just like nothing happened between you and Henry. So - your good friend here, your **buddy**" he said sarcastically "just decided to move to a different country just to be with his pal without any incentive at all. Right. I can't believe I ever trusted you again." Matt leaned forward, head hanging down with his elbows on his knees - pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes. "I thought you were special, different than other women. But you're just like all the rest, some pretty boy winks and nods and off you go." With every word Betty shoulders sank a little further, the tears starting to leak down her face.

"That's enough!" Daniel interjected. "Betty, why do you care if he believes you? Damn it Matt! Why do you care if we're together now? Remember - you're the one who left!"

Matt's head snapped up, "I left to help **starving children**." He placed heavy emphasis on the last two words. "I wasn't making googly eyes with my boss. Besides, I wasn't gone that long - she could have trusted me when I said that I would be back in six months." He looked back at Betty and saw her face change as he said this. She looked angry now.

"Of course I trusted you would be back, I also trusted that you would stay just long enough for the next great thing to catch your attention, and I trusted that you would probably be back again until the next time and the next time after that. Being the center of your world is great for a while but you have the attention span of a gnat!" She was worked up and on a roll now, "I was faithful to you Matt, you're right, I should have told you about kissing Henry but that's all it was - a good-bye kiss, it was wrong but it didn't have the meaning you gave it. And so what if I took Daniel's calls, he wasn't just my boss, he was my friend, and alright, maybe I knew he sometimes made up reasons to call and was just wanting my time and company…"

"Wait… you knew that?" Daniel eyed Betty nervously.

Betty sighed and glanced back at Daniel, "Honey, nobody loses the same report three times in one week - besides part of it was still stuck in the shredder when I got there the second time, and come on, picking the color to paint your new apartment was not a midnight emergency no matter what time the painters were getting there in the morning." The two exchanged smiling looks that spoke of inside jokes and shared history, Daniel reached out and gently placed his arm around her shoulders.

Again the casual touch made his stomach sink even lower. "But you went to him anyway. Time and again you left me to go to him." Matt saw a flash of guilt momentarily cross Betty's face. "If you weren't having an affair then **why?"**

"**I… I…He…" She stumbled for words, shaking her head and looking genuinely confused. "He needed me." **

**A painful realization hit Matt, Betty had never truly been his, not really. She had dragged her feet about moving in with him, she had freaked out when she thought she might be pregnant, and when he told her about Africa he had truly believed she would beg him not to go, or even offer to go with him. "It was always going to be him wasn't it?" The wall of anger he had built up suddenly crumbled about him, leaving only sadness and resignation. "I want to believe it, when you say you were just friends, but I think you are lying to yourself as much as anyone else. Did it ever even cross your mind to tell him no? You say my attention wanders, well I never fully had yours. I needed you too, you know."**

"**I'm sorry Matt." **

"**Yeah… well… me too." The three of them sat there quietly for a couple of minutes, the only sound was the rain outside picking up it's tempo and changing from a soft patter to a steady drumming overhead. Taking a deep breath Matt stood up and headed towards the door.**

"**Matt, wait…" Betty jumped up from the couch and headed towards him, Daniel close on her heels. "Betty, let him go." He whispered in her ear as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to him. **

"**Daniel was right Betty, I'm the one who left. I could have stayed and fought for your affections but I didn't - and I lost." He grabbed his still wet jacket, put it on, and opened the door. "So I wish you both the best of luck and… Good-bye." He didn't wait for her reply, he stepped quickly out into the dark downpour and shut the door behind him. Thankfully there was an underground station nearby so he didn't have to try and get a cab, and the ride to Heathrow was uneventful. Matt spent the time reflecting over the confrontation with Betty - thinking of dozens of things he wished he had said, wishing he could take back a couple of the ones he had. Part of him knew she wasn't the type to be capable of what he had accused her of, but he still wondered. **

**The crew had not expected him to be back so soon and were now scrambling about to ready the jet for the return flight. He changed into some dry clothes and went to the cockpit to ask how much longer it was going to take to get in the air, no one was there so Matt sat in the pilot's seat and started looking at all the dials, switches, and displays. Fascinated, he ran his hands over the controls - he should learn how to fly, how wonderful it must be to be able to take flight whenever you wanted. Why had this not occurred to him before? He could see spending the rest of his life soaring above the clouds. Matt smiled to himself and settled into the seat to wait for the pilot's return.**


End file.
